Guest Post By Jasmine June Cabanaw

Summer has always been my favorite season for writing. The nostalgia of sitting against a tree in the sweet smelling grass with a pen and notebook in hand is more delicious than an ice-cream cone on a hot summer day. As a child, I never stopped to wonder why I enjoyed writing the most during summer; I simply relished it and lived in the moment the way children tend to do.

Now that I’m older and have the wisdom of several adult years behind me, I understand why summer is the best time to work on being a brilliant writer. Some of my favorite reasons are below. Can you add anymore to the list?

The Great Outdoors

Growing up in a place that had four seasons meant I had limited time to write outdoors. And while I loved my childhood home, staring at the same walls day after day was not exactly inspiring. But then there was summer!

The brilliant writer Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The earth laughs in flowers.” In that single sentence he showed us that nature is poetry. The great outdoors is inspiring for all creative types, but especially for writers. And summertime is when nature is in full bloom. So take advantage. Go out, get inspired, and write!

Summer Vacation

As adults, we may not have two months off during the summer like we did when we were kids, but it’s certainly the season when most people take at least a short vacation. I don’t know about you, but as a kid my summer vacation always naturally turned into writing time.

Why not keep with that tradition as an adult? Too often our writing careers start to feel like work. Summer is a great excuse to take a writing vacation and write for pleasure like you used to. Check in with yourself, go back to your roots, and write your days away!

Volunteering

I am so grateful to the adults who spent their precious summer hours volunteering at my local library. There was nothing more exciting to me as a kid than sharpening my pencils, picking out a fresh notebook, and trouncing off to the writing workshops at the library.

Summer is when kids are out of school, so it’s a perfect opportunity to give back to your community while advancing your writing craft at the same time. Teaching is a great way to look at writing from a different angle. It’s a refresher, helps you connect with other writers, and allows you to be a mentor. Your local library is a great place to look for volunteer opportunities, but also ask around at schools and community centers.

Learning

Attending summer writing workshops doesn’t have to end after childhood. There are plenty of options for adults, too, and I’ve found that there are more course offerings during summer than any other time of the year.

If getting out to a workshop or writing retreat isn’t an option, consider taking an online writing course and having your own writing retreat at home. You can even throw a little online writing course party with some of your writer friends and take the course together. Grab your pals, fire up the barbecue, sink your teeth into some juicy watermelon, put your pen to a fresh piece of paper, and write! Sounds like summertime fun to me.

Join the discussion! Do you have a favorite season as a writer? Can you think of other reasons why summer is a perfect season for writers? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

For more writing tips and tricks check out my YouTube channel —> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUXkLV0Hmp3VZ0rDNE6aig 

My upcoming events can be found here—> https://albertflynndesilver.com/classes